how many insects are there?

Attempts to get an overview of all living species on Earth always run into trouble when it comes to insects. There isn't even a clear consensus on how many species there may be. Historically, estimates have gone as high as 30 million, with a recent trend towards lower figures around 6 million. New research now suggests that this last figure needs to be multiplied by three.

This is in line with the fact that wherever researchers have a closer look at insect diversity, they tend to discover several times more species than were previouslly known. I've combined both the challenge of the global count and some recent discoveries, together with the threat of population losses and extinctions to a feature about insect numbers which is out now:

Counting insects

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 15, 03 August 2026, Pages R833--R835

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A study of rove beetles in China revealed 61 new species. (Photos: Qing-Hao Zhao.)

missing megafauna

There is so much exciting research based on sequencing of ancient DNA coming out now that it's easy to lose track of the historic and prehistoric humans and hominins getting sequenced and sorted into family trees. Not quite as much ancient DNA work targets animals, if only because they are more likely to get eaten after death, rather than being buried in a form that benefits genome analysis.

A recent paper on a dozen well-preserved cave lions found in permafrost soil and sequenced in comparison to modern lions caught my eye, however. I used it as an excuse to revisit megafauna extinctions, this time through the lense of genomic studies. It's always useful to have a mascot to remember a feature by, so this is now the cave lion feature, although other species of Pleistocene megafauna also appear, including elephants, ground squirrels and giant echidnas.

The resulting feature is out now:

Charting the missing megafauna

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 13, 6 July 2026, Pages R729--R731

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This exceptionally well-preserved female cave lion cub named Sparta was discovered in 2018 in Belaya Gora, near the Indigirka River in northeastern Siberia. Her genome was one of the twelve studied by David Stanton and colleagues. (Photo by Love Dalén.)

our less famous microbiomes

I attended a Cell Press symposium about microbiomes and their interactions with the host organism at Bruges in May. It was mostly about the one in the human gut and its interaction with the immune system, but for my feature I chose the road less travelled and focused on the microbiomes of other body parts, including vagina, skin and nose. I was really most inspired by the Belgian project Isala, which due to the lack of an animal model for the vaginal microbiome, relied on actual humans sending in their samples.

The resulting feature is out now:

Know your microbiomes inside and out

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 12, 22 June 2026, Pages R677--R679

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The Isala project studying the vaginal microbiome was launched as a citizen science project and has received overwhelming support from thousands of participants. Symbolic picture on the theme of sisterhood, not actual participants of the project as far as I know. (Photo: Colin Anderson Productions pty ltd/Getty Images.)

The view from the top floor of the (otherwise horrible) conference venue was ok.

a forest under the sea

A recent paper on the evidence of early forests on Doggerland, a landmass in the location that is now known as the North Sea, inspired me to revisit the issue of losing our forests. Like the ones that literally disappeared under the North Sea, there are lots of other forests that have fallen into oblivion after millennia of agriculture made us believe that pastures and fields are a natural landscape.

And there are the ones that are quietly disappearing right now, not just in the tropics but also at higher latitudes, even though we could really use their carbon sequestration services to fight climate change ...

The resulting feature is out now:

Forgotten forests

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 10, 18 May 2026, Pages R421--R423

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Toby Kiers of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks takes a sample next to an ancient alerce tree (Fitzroya cupressoides). (Photo: Tomás Munita/SPUN.)

all about oysters

I didn't know much about oysters until three weeks ago, but a member of the editorial team at Current Biology suggested to do a feature on the restoration of oyster reefs, so I educated myself and found out a lot of interesting things about the ecosystems we lost, but could in some cases restore quite easily, for instance by dumping discarded oyster shells in the sea.

The resulting feature is out now:

Returning shells to the sea

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 9, 4 May 2026, Pages R363--R365

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Oyster reefs declined severely in the 19th and 20th centuries but are now being restored in many places. (Photo: The Tampa Bay Estuary Program/Unsplash.)

staying alive

In the madness of the UK's Covid response, public health expert Devi Sridhar was a lone voice of reason. Remembering this, I was keen to read her book about the wider application of her thinking to population scale life and death from all causes and found it quite enlightening. Most importantly, she demonstrates how dramatically the political decisions affecting public health differ between countries and how that leads to very different results in avoidable deaths from causes ranging from guns to cars.

How Not to Die (too soon): The Lies We’ve Been Sold and the Policies That Can Save Us
Devi Sridhar
Penguin Viking 2025

My review of the book is now out in the April issue of Chemistry & Industry:

Health accountability

Chemistry & Industry Volume 90, Issue 4, April 2026, Page 34

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In the same issue I also have a feature about plant microbiomes. I've covered the field a couple of times in Current Biology (most recently in 2022), but this one is slightly different in emphasis as C&I wanted more about the application side of it than I have previously covered.

Plant probiotics

Chemistry & Industry Volume 90, Issue 4, April 2026, Pages 22-25

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how trees rule the world

I keep writing about trees, all the wonderful things they do for us, and why we stop forestation. I never joined the dots quite like Harriet Rix does in her amazing book

The genius of trees:
How trees mastered the elements and shaped the world
Bodley Head 2025

which shows that our whole environment is basically the product of trees controlling earth, water, air, and fire, the classical elements referenced in the title.

So I should have written this book, but it was more relaxing just reading and enjoying it.

My review of the book is now out in the March issue of Chemistry & Industry:

A world shaped by trees

Chemistry & Industry Volume 90, Issue 3, March 2026, Page 34

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As always, I can send a PDF on request.

PS I believe the book is now available as a paperback too - saves some trees!

save the microbes

Over the last few decades, there has been a growing awareness of the fact that commensal microbiota are important just about everywhere, from our bodies to the leaves of tomato plants. Funnily enough this hasn't quite translated into the realisation that saving life on Earth from another mass extinction will also require saving the microbes that are the foundation of all ecosystems as well as the little helpers in many symbiotic relationships.

Only last year did the IUCN (which looks after the Red List of endangered species) launch a specialist group focused on microbial conservation. Reason enough to write a feature about it which is out now:

Towards a Red List for microbes

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 6, 23 March 2026, Pages R229-R231

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The cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus is a major contributor to photosynthesis globally but may be more vulnerable to ocean warming than previously predicted. (Image taken by Anne Thompson, Chisholm Lab.)

eagle issues

There are animal species, often apex predators, which many humans seem to worship for their fierce power, such as lions, cheetahs and eagles. Sadly, this connection, often engrained in cultural traditions over centuries, doesn't automatically protect the admired animal. Although eagles are generally faring better than the less admired vultures, there are a few conservation concerns which I have covered in my latest feature which is out today:

Keeping an eye on eagles

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 4, 23 February 2026, Pages R105-R107

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Eagles like this golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) have symbolised power since Roman times.
(Photo: Susanne Nilsson/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).)

plants recycling metals

It has been known for centuries that certain kinds of plants thrive on soils heavily contaminated with toxic metals, even on mining waste. It took a while for people to realise that these plants can be used to extract desirable metals from such soils. Especially in our times with ever-growing hunger for resources like nickel, gold, and rare earth metals, the rising prices of these metals have led to some plant-based mining methods becoming economically attractive.

Read all about it in my latest feature which is out today:

Mining metals with plants

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 3, 2 February 2026, Pages R73-R75

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The yellow zinc violet (Viola lutea ssp. calaminaria) has historically served as an indicator plant for soils rich in zinc ores. It is still found on former mining sites in the area where the borders between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet. (Photo: Gilles San Martin/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).)

the urban ecology of feeding birds and squirrels

Back in December, I spotted a research paper about the ecological impact of human-provided food on squirrel populations, and I started to wonder whether similar work exists for the various species of "garden birds" that many of us like to feed in winter. Incidentally, I installed an inherited bird feeder outside my window around the same time, to get some first hand observations in. (It may be an age thing, too.)

It's always fun writing about squirrels, but the most spectacular results I discovered were those of the hummingbirds in California. Due to the widespread use of feeding stations with fake nectar, these birds have extended their range dramatically and also undergone measurable anatomical evolution.

Read all about it in my latest feature which is out today:

Feeding change in urban wildlife

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 2, 19 January 2026, Pages R31-R33

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Squirrels like this Eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) thrive in urban parks and benefit from food supplied by humans. A study on the Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in Japan has shown that the urban populations also have improved reproduction chances compared with the rural ones. (Photo: Jules Verne Times Two/julesvernex2.com/CC-BY-SA-4.0.)

The same issue of CB also contains story of Veronika, the back-scratching bovine that probably wins the internet today (open access). I already saw a Guardian headline about it.

stopping the shark trade

A rare bit of good news for marine biodiversity arrived last December from the unlikely location of landlocked Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The 20th conference of the signatories to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) significantly enhanced the protection of sharks and rays. Time for another feature about cartilaginous fish, or as I now like to call them: chondrichthyans:

Chondrichthyans at the crossroads

Current Biology Volume 36, Issue 1, 5 January 2026, Pages R1-R3

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An oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus, Critically Endangered) observed at Elphinstone Reef, Egypt. The species has now been added to the Appendix I of CITES, meaning that all trade is banned. (Photo: Polygonia c-album/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).)

nature in recovery

I needed cheering up after covering 30 years of climate failure in the penultimate feature of the year, so I followed a suggestion from the editorial team and chose species recovery as the topic for the last one. From the global moratorium on whaling to the European ban on neonics, if we just stop destroying nature, it actually helps the planet to heal, so we should really do more of that.

The feature is out now, completing my set of 24 features in this calendar year:

Roads to recovery

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 24, 15 December 2025, Pages R1165-R1167

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Global populations of humpback whales have made a remarkable recovery since the whaling moratorium, offering opportunities for scientific studies as well as for recreational whale watching.
(Photo: NPS Photo/Kaitlin Thoresen.)

ants in the anthropocene

We know that various groups of insects are declining, and we tend to worry about them if they are beautiful butterflies or busy bees, but we wouldn't normally think of ants as being at risk. A recent paper has shown, however, that the diversity of ant species in island habitats is declining, which may be a warning sign for ant biodiversity everywhere. A big part of the problem is that those ant species that are best adapted to cope with human-made disruptions are spreading everywhere and displacing the ones that are less robust to the impacts of the anthropocene.

So this has been a good reason to look at those disappearing ants and the kind of ecosystem functions that we may lose when they go.

My feature is out now:

Ant diversity at risk

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 21, 3 November 2025, Pages R1029-R1031

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The study of ant biodiversity and population declines in Fiji made use of museum specimens like these.
(Photo: Peter Ginter (CC BY).)

on the origins of alcohol consumption

A recent news release about researchers recycling an ancient word, namely scrumping, drew my attention to the issue of apes and other animals seeking out fermenting fruit that likely contain alcohol. Historically, alcohol appreciation in animals has been dismissed as accidental or anecdotal, but recent investigations seem to suggest there are good reasons for animals to seek fermenting fruit, and thus consumption of some amounts of alcohol may be more widespread than previously thought. It turns out in fact that we share our remarkable ability to digest alcohol with the African great apes, so it is older than our species.

My feature is out now:

Apes appreciate alcohol

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 17, 8 September 2025, Pages R819-R821

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Update 18.9.2025: The alcohol uptake of chimps has now been quantified reports the Guardian based on a paper in Science Advances.

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Fruit flies of the Drosophila genus are well adapted to the presence of ethanol in decaying fruit and can even tolerate a limited amount of methanol. (Photo: Martin Cooper/Flickr (CC BY 2.0).)

de-extinction deconstructed

I have some sympathy for the idea of repopulating the Arctic tundra with big beasts to restore its natural ecosystem functions, although I'm not sure that elephants dressed up as mammoths are the most cost-efficient way to do this. By contrast, I was quite a bit annoyed by the recent hype over the claimed "de-extinction" of the dire wolf, which won the world's attention simply because there was footage of cute puppies.

So I've tried to write up a reasonably balanced account of the recent news from the de-extinction people, and I found that they are doing some collateral good work eg in elephant conservation and in funding genome research, but the bottom line is that I'm not convinced.

My feature is out now:

Can extinction be reversed?

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 16, 18 August 2025, Pages R783-R785

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The South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus) is among the species that the company Colossal is planning to recreate. (Photo: York Museums Trust staff/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).)

oceans acidified

I've covered ocean acidification many years ago, when it was beginning to emerge as a threat to corals and other calcifying sea organisms, and I've written about the planetary boundary concept (most recently, when chemical pollution was found to have exceeded the boundary).

Thus the new research suggesting that ocean adicification is also outside the planetary boundary (as the seventh of the nine parameters in the original planetary boundary paper) presented a good opportunity to visit both issues in one go.

My feature is out now:

Oceans acidified beyond boundary

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 15, 4 August 2025, Pages R739-R741

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The cover image is not really related to my article, but to me it also symbolises the interaction between the oceans and the atmosphere, because: "Bluebottles or man-o'-war, cnidarians in the genus Physalia, use a gas-filled float and sail to catch the wind and sail the ocean surface."

Cover of Current Biology, vol. 35, issue 15, 2025.

coastal squeeze

Sometimes reading a new word or phrase opens a whole new perspective on problems that we may already have known about in a less focused way. The words alone can suggest new connections, analytical methods, ways of describing things, a whole new world. This happened to me recently when I spotted the expression "coastal squeeze" in the headline of a press release. So I had to do a feature about how the coasts get squeezed, and why, and what to do about it.

My feature is out now:

Squeezed between land and sea

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 14, 21 July 2025, Pages R687-R689

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Coastal ecosystems are at risk of being squeezed out between rising sea levels and encroaching infrastructure. (Photo: x70tjw/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).)

the big story of tiny forests

I used to get quite a few stories from Earthwatch Europe back in the noughties, when they sent expeditions to lots of places around the world. Nowadays they focus on issues closer to home such as butterfly counts and water quality, so there aren't so many different ecosystems involved, hence fewer features to write (although I did one on citizen science in 2021).

Recently I heard a talk from Claire Narraway at the Oxford Cafe Scientifique about their tiny forests programme, and was intrigued by the way the idea has travelled around the world, pioneered in Japan by Akira Miyawaki, and being scaled up in India, to arrive on some 300 tennis-court-sized plots in the UK. So I wrote a feature about it and also went to the local tiny forest in Meadow Lane to take a few photos.

My feature is out now:

How tiny forests became a big thing

Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 12, 23 June 2025, Pages R587-R589

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Oxford's very own tiny forest in Meadow Lane. Own photo.

deep down

As an armchair explorer of life under extreme conditions, I always enjoy reading the accounts of people who dare to go to these dangerous places themselves. One of them is Susan Casey, whose book on deep sea dives is informed by her own participation in some of the exploration as well as by immersing herself in the weird and wonderful world of those people who are prepared to go to the bottom of the oceans. While I had covered the 20th century explorations in my books, it was enlightening to read about the recent multi-record breaking exploits of Victor Vescovo who visited the deepest points of all five oceans in solo dives (the Five Deeps project completed in 2019).

The book is called

The underworld: Journeys to the depths of the oceans
Susan Casey
Penguin 2024

and my review is out now:

Oceanic exploration

Chemistry & Industry Volume 89, Issue 6, June 2025, Page 30

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